<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>the cat and the fiddle by cirque</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22836934">the cat and the fiddle</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cirque/pseuds/cirque'>cirque</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hey Diddle Diddle (Nursery Rhyme)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 14:41:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>422</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22836934</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cirque/pseuds/cirque</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There were simply a lot of musical cats.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Once Upon a Fic 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the cat and the fiddle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamiflame/gifts">dreamiflame</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He wasn’t the first cat to play the fiddle. Back home, it was something of an epidemic; every puss-in-boots worth their salt could pick up a violin or stretch their body out against a cello and… </span>
  <em>
    <span>thrum</span>
  </em>
  <span> . Even this far out into the galaxy, it was a popular instrument. It was difficult, truly, to stand out from the masses. There were simply a lot of musical cats.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry had been a prodigal kitten, a keen-eared listener and a master at the fiddle. They had taught him young and so he grew up with an instrument glued to his paw. It wasn’t that unusual on his planet. His fingers were deft on the neck of it and he played with a passion that marked him as different. Worth listening to. Sometimes he would croon as he played; they liked that a lot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He left home as soon as he could afford a passenger ticket on a ship; paid for, of course, with a song. He was the only cat on board and he spent the journey swinging his legs. People stared at him, whispering </span>
  <em>
    <span>feline</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but he was used to it, let the awkwardness fall off his back. He made eye contact, his wide amber eyes boring into theirs, daring them to start something. He'd cut his teeth on folk like these, had sharpened his claws on every day-dreaming chancer who wanted to make a statement. Cats were everybody's scapegoat, Henry had learned when he was young, a kitten drunk off his mother's milk. He puffed out his cheeks and let his tail wander. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But no fight arose, and Henry stared out of the window by his seat, watching stars flow by, watching bolides wax and wane, wondering how many of the planets out there held life; how many musicians played for their souls and with what instruments, what lost look in their eyes. He clutched his fiddle tight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wondered mostly what life would be like for him when they landed on Earth, what people he would meet, what vermin he would chase, the thrill of it hot in his ears. What was Earth like? Were there many other talking cats? What secrets did its moon hide?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Earth rose up to meet them. It was a pretty little thing, mostly blue but enough green to make anyone happy. There were clouds swirling in the atmosphere, like liminal little specks, ephemeral, dainty things. Henry gasped and twanged a chord, the better to express his wonder. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he was going to enjoy this. </span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>